“Adult.—Above bluish gray, darker on the head and nape, pale on rump and upper tail-coverts; feathers of the head and nape, the scapulars and sometimes other parts of the upper plumage dark shafted, and all feathers except those of the head and hind neck with dark cross-bands; forehead whitish; a broad cheek-stripe from beneath eye black; primaries blackish, the inner webs, except near the end, closely barred with white; secondaries ashy gray with darker cross-bands; tail dark gray or blackish, with numerous ashy gray cross-bars, closer together and paler toward the base, extreme tip and borders near tip whitish; lower parts white with a rufous tinge, a few brown or black spots on lower breast and middle of abdomen, and narrow dark bars on flanks, lower wing-coverts, thighs, and under tail-coverts.

“Young birds are very dark brown above, the feathers edged with rufous, the buff bases of the feathers showing about nape; tail-feathers with about six transversely oval rufous spots on each web, forming imperfect cross-bars; primaries as in adults; cheek-stripe narrower; lower parts white, buff, or rufescent, spotted except on the throat, with broad brown elongate median stripes, becoming broad spots on the flanks.

“After the first molt peregrines are brownish gray above and gradually acquire a pure slaty-gray back. The spots and bars on the lower parts are much broader at first and grow smaller and narrower with age, the drops on the breast become narrow lines and ultimately disappear altogether, the bands fade off the under tail-coverts and in very old birds only small scattered specks remain on the abdomen and triangular markings on the thigh-coverts. The general tint of the lower surface varies from almost white to light rufous.

“Bill bluish, black at tip; cere yellow; iris brown; legs and feet yellow. Length of a female, about 483; tail, 190; wing, 368; tarsus, 53; middle toe without claw, 57; bill from gape, 33. Males are considerably smaller, length, about 406; wing, 317.” (Blanford.)

An old female, taken in Tarlac Province, Luzon, was 470 in length; wing, 360; tail, 195; culmen from base, 30; tarsus, 55; middle toe with claw, 68. Iris brown; cere, legs, and skin about eyes light lemon-yellow; nails black; bill black, its basal third very pale yellow.

199. FALCO MELANOGENYS Gould.
AUSTRALIAN FALCON.

Luzon (Heriot). Australia.

“Adult male.—Head and nape deep black, including the entire sides of face, cheeks, and ear-coverts; interscapulary region blackish, with a few obsolete transverse bars of bluish gray; rest of upper surface bluish ashy, barred all over with blackish, some of the bars, especially of the upper tail-coverts, assuming a triangular form; upper wing-coverts somewhat washed with brown, the gray shade being more perceptible on the greater series; quills black, the primaries outwardly shaded with gray, outer secondaries narrowly tipped with creamy white, the inner ones almost entirely bluish gray, with obscure blackish marblings and cross-bars; tail blackish, with a narrow ashy white bar at the tip, the upper surface shaded with gray, clearer toward the base, bars on center rectrices eleven in number, not including the broad subterminal black band; throat and upper breast deep creamy buff, the latter with a few median black shaft-stripes; rest of the under surface buffy white, closely but narrowly barred across with black, sides of body and thighs shaded with a bluish gray tinge; fore part of breast and under wing-coverts with a strong fawn-colored shade. Bill greenish at base, horny black at tip, under mandible deep orange; feet yellow; claws black; iris dark. Length, 376; culmen, 30; wing, 300; tail, 152; tarsus, 51.